I haven’t had a listen myself yet, so I don’t know if the reader is up to the task of all the accents and dialects there are to be found in this rich collection, but it’s definitely worth a shot. Take it to the gym, listen to a few murders on the subway, give yourself a chill on the elliptical. Visit my fair city in all its noir glory.Â Buy it here.

Everyone interested in online fiction, raise your hand, now put it on the mouse or trackpad or device of your choice and go to Electric Velocipede.Â The award-winning publication is back in a big way, giving away some truly remarkable fiction.Â I’ll have more on EV’s return soon.

My class this summer was plagued with more than the usual difficulties in attendance and getting the work completed on time. They were stretched thin, often carrying too many hours, working too many jobs, worried about money, sleep, illness, debt, etc. If you have some notion of the carefree college student who’s only looking for the next bong hit or keg of beer, you need to update. They’re carrying serious debt to prepare themselves for the crappiest job market in decades. When I went to college, I could put myself through at a public tax-supported university, earning four degrees with very little debt. We boomers had it great, but things have gotten awful stingy for the young now. Personally, I don’t want my taxes cut, so we can raise tuition. Give these kids the same break we had. The kids are alright, but I have my doubts about the stingy older generation.Â When we’re old and drooling, we might regret our short-sightedness when there aren’t enough educated professionals to look after our sorry asses.